Easy Homemade Spaghetti Sauce Recipe
One meal my kids will eat without protest is homemade spaghetti and homemade meatballs. For years, I used store bought spaghetti sauce, which was okay but never amazing. Then, I tried my hardest to come up with a homemade spaghetti sauce recipe that I could bottle with my fresh tomatoes, and even then, I never found one I absolutely loved.
I finally started experimenting with simple ingredients at home, and my goal was to be able to make a homemade spaghetti sauce in the amount of time it would take to open a bottle of store bought.
I finally found a combination that my family loves and it is so super easy to make. Let me share it with you.
Jump to RecipeThis homemade spaghetti sauce recipe is so easy to make and you can keep the staple ingredients on hand.
Ingredients I use for my spaghetti sauce:
- fresh minced garlic
- dried basil and oregano
- canned tomato paste
- canned crushed tomato
- marsala or red wine ( I also like using sherry)
- olive oil
Make sure to try my homemade meatball recipe as well to make this the ultimate meal!
These are simple ingredients that most of us have in our pantry. If you do not want to use wine, you can use a small amount of balsamic vinegar or omit them both and it will taste great as well.
How to make super easy homemade spaghetti sauce:
The process for making your own homemade spaghetti sauce is simple. The most important part is the beginning. If you are using your spaghetti sauce meatless or with meatballs you will start the same. You want to heat your olive oil and minced garlic over low heat for about 5-10 minutes. This allows the garlic to release all its oils and become very aromatic.
Do not turn your heat high, because burning garlic equals bitter garlic. Once you have been cooking it for about 5-10 minutes, add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, wine and water and bring it to a simmer. Add you oregano and basil and cook it all together for at least 10 minutes. You can cook it for as long as you want really, but I find that I can make a great tasting quick homemade spaghetti sauce in that amount of time.
If you want to use ground beef, you will cook the meat first and then add the garlic and oil and turn the heat down. Then you can proceed with the rest of the recipe.
My kids love this homemade spaghetti sauce. We love using it with angel hair pasta and a bit of parmesan cheese. A side salad and some yummy garlic bread and you have a quick weeknight dinner.
I also use this recipe when making stuffed shells or lasagne. What I love about making this homemade spaghetti sauce is knowing what is in it. The longer I am a mom, and as I have been focusing on my own nutrition journey, this is very important to me. There are no preservatives or additives. It is a pure and simple sauce. You can add cream to it, to make it a rose sauce.
To make this homemade sauce “LOW FODMAP” I omit the garlic and add garlic infused olive oil, and 2-3 oz of cream cheese at the end to make it a bit more creamy.
This basic homemade spaghetti sauce recipe is so easy to customize. You can add more spices, including crushed red pepper flakes or fresh basil! So many options.
I have more amazing pasta and pasta sauce recipes!
30 Minute Homemade Roasted Tomato Pasta
Easy Creamy Tomato and Sausage Gnocchi Recipe
Hearty and Flavorful Pasta Fagioli Recipe
5 Ingredient Recipe Fast and Easy Broccoli Pasta Dinner
Easy Homemade Spaghetti Sauce Recipe
Easy Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 small can tomato paste
- 1 tbsp fresh minced garlic
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- pinch of sugar and salt to taste
- 1 lb ground beef or sausage(optional)
- 1 14 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1/2 cup marsala or red wine
Instructions
- Brown your ground beef or sausage in a skillet. Break it up into small chunks. If you are not using meat, go head to the next step.(you can also add meatballs at the end)
- Once it is almost done turn it to low and add 1 tsp olive oil and your garlic.
- Let the garlic slowly cook with the meat and let it release its flavor and aroma. You want this to be a slow process, because it will bring out the amazing flavor of the garlic. You do not want it to burn, this will cause it to be bitter.
- Add your alcohol and let it cook down for about 5 minutes
- After about 5minutes, add your crushed tomatoes and tomato paste. I like to add about 2 cans full of water as well. This will cook down. You can add more or less depending on how thick you want your sauce.
- Add in your oregano and basil, and a pinch of sugar(this helps the acidity of the tomatoes) You can also add a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes if wanted.
- Let this all cook for about 10 minutes to about 40 minutes. The longer that you let it cook the more flavorful it will get. I make this often and only cook it for about 10 minutes. You can add meatballs at this point and let them simmer with the sauce.You can taste and add salt if you feel it is needed.
- Serve this over spaghetti pasta, angel hair pasta or your favorite shaped pasta.
- We love adding some parmesan cheese to the top.
